Decision time for Ohio's teams

Sunday

Jun 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 29, 2008 at 10:40 AM

CLEVELAND -- The major league baseball season reaches its midpoint this weekend. The Indians played game No. 81 last night, the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. There has been a little to celebrate, a lot to forget. Soon there will be difficult decisions to make.

CLEVELAND -- The major league baseball season reaches its midpoint this weekend. The Indians played game No. 81 last night, the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. There has been a little to celebrate, a lot to forget. Soon there will be difficult decisions to make.

Can the Indians contend for a postseason spot in 2008, or should they reload for 2009? If they punt the rest of this season, should they trade C.C. Sabathia or continue to try to re-sign him? Can the Reds contend as early as 2009, and if so, how do they build such a team? Is Adam Dunn best a part of their future or their past?

For now, there is another game to focus on, so players and coaches on both teams gladly immerse themselves in the daily grind. They know decisions are coming (the All-Star break is a prime opportunity for the front office to reflect and react) but their job rewards tunnel vision.

So Sabathia blocked out the rampant trade rumors and shut out the Reds on Friday, and Johnny Cueto harnessed the best of an inconsistent rookie season to shut out the Indians for 6 1/3 innings last night, leading the Reds to a 5-0 win before 39,506 at Progressive Field.

It was the third consecutive start in which Cueto allowed two runs or fewer. He is 6-8 with a 4.68 ERA and just enough outings like last night to feel good about his potential in the coming seasons.

"He's matured a lot," manager Dusty Baker said. "He's learned not to fight himself, to control his own emotions.

"Hopefully he can get on a roll in the second half and get himself and us back to .500. Then everybody feels better."

Baker, ever the optimist, compared the Reds to a basketball team trailing late in the first half.

"A couple three-pointers, bam, we're right there," he said.

Realistically, the Reds' best hope for the second half is that Cueto and the other young players are better in September than they were in April. In that regard, it is encouraging that Cueto's slider and change-up have been so effective in recent outings. He has worked on them between starts, and he felt comfortable enough with the change-up last night to throw it in key situations.

"I didn't do that before," he said through an interpreter.

The Indians are in a different position. They are 8 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central, but they have outscored their opponents by 15 runs, which puts them in the top half of the AL.

With a similar performance and better luck in the second half, they can easily reach .500. With a better performance and better luck, they should challenge for a second straight division title.

They currently have a training room full of hope. Pitchers Fausto Carmona and Jake Westbrook, catcher Victor Martinez, designated hitter Travis Hafner and second baseman Josh Barfield spend their mornings at Progressive Field, rehabilitating injuries. All but Westbrook are expected to return to the lineup this season; Carmona could return after the All-Star break.

In the meantime, the Tribe's fate is in the hands of Ben Francisco, Shin-Soo Choo, Jamey Carroll, Kelly Shoppach and Jeremy Sowers.

"It's been an odd year," manager Eric Wedge said. "We're just a different ballclub. We're going to keep plugging."